Everything has a cost. Ask yourself, should you give up your personal freedoms for the safety of your family and your country?

I say, absolutely.

But what happens when the government’s biggest secrets become public knowledge? Such was the case with Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old who will go down in infamy as the man responsible for some of the biggest NSA leaks in history.

Snowden, a former employee of the CIA, brazenly leaked classified information by reportedly loading it onto a computer drive and releasing it to the American public. He then cowardly hopped a plane to Hong Kong, and is seeking refuge among nations that will not extradite him to the U.S. to face criminal charges for his acts of espionage.

Snowden claims he grew disgusted with our Big Brother nation, and so he decided to release national security records of government intelligence requests, such as a request by the NSA that Verizon give it the details of the conversations of millions of customers.

Snowden is a traitor and a danger to our national security. His callous disregard for his duty as an American citizen may have caused irreparable damage to our security and our secrets. I hope he is extradited as soon as possible.

If Snowden is a traitor, what about journalists who report on and repeat these leaks? The Obama administration and the Justice Department have come under fire in recent weeks for seizing phone records of reporters for the Associated Press and one from Fox News.

Should repeating the leaks also subject you to prosecution, even if you’re only “reporting”?

These types of debates have united lawmakers on both the left and right and are healthy for our democracy, but our top priority must be the safety and security of our nation.

Lastly, in a follow-up to my column last week about overhauling the Long Island Power Authority and replacing it with a private operator, PSE&G, I wanted to reiterate one key point: LIPA, as it currently stands, must go. With hurricane season now upon us, the time is now, before, God forbid, our region suffers another devastating storm. I strongly urge the New York State Senate and Assembly to pass Governor Cuomo’s bill to overhaul LIPA in the coming weeks.

Al D’Amato, a former U.S. senator from New York, is the founder of Park Strategies LLC, a public policy and business development firm. Comments about this column? ADAmato@liherald.com.

Comments

Sacrifice freedoms? I am guessing that you retirement or cash gifts from Grumman has compromised your mind and soul to make a decision on what is best for our people Mr. D'Amato. Please spare us the McCarthy-ism rhetoric that you and your cronies would love for us to blindly follow to our demise. You are the very element that out founding fathers warned us against!

Both Republican and Democratic Party elitists would want nothing better than to have the American People trade off our Freedoms (bequeathed to us from GOD, but guaranteed us by our Founding Father's in the United States Constitution.) Mr. D'Amato along with most political opportunists and masters of "Loop-hole infested Laws" which have brought us to this unholy "Cradle to Grave" control by most Federal, State and Local government municipalities throughout the nation. Over many years, politicians from both sides of the aisle and at all levels, have colluded with the intent purpose of enslaving the American citizenry through passing Law upon Law which benefits only the "Entitled Aristocracy" on our nation. Trading our Freedoms for added safety is a preposterous and nefarious attempt to further obligate American citizens to the Nanny-State, Marxist Ideology espoused by Karl Marx, and not coincidentally Vladimir Putin and closer to home, Al D'Amato, and Barack Obama, among others in the political world, too many to mention. The world is in turmoil

thanks to the corruption of the "Power Elite" of every nation. American wealth has been squandered away to BUY the loyalty of less powerful nations, led by even more corrupt national leaders. Obviously the PEOPLE of those nations have discovered the corruption quicker than the American public. Their streets are ablaze with violent protest. It is only time, before "American Streets will run red with the blood of Tyrants and Patriots alike"..